Last month, Marie and I were invited to visit Memphis BBQ Company, which opened last year in a great big space in Dunwoody that had previously been the home of a British-themed pub called Firkin & Gryphon, and, for many years before that, a Smokey Bones. It looks like too large a space for a barbecue restaurant in Atlanta. Acknowledging that Jim ‘n Nick’s has done pretty well here, quite a few other large-store chains, including Famous Dave’s, Corky’s and indeed Smokey Bones, have all failed in this market, and Sonny’s seems to have closed as many stores as they’ve opened. On the other hand, Melissa Cookston, the owner of this restaurant, has a very small-growth approach to her chain. The Atlanta store is only the third, and while she is considering a fourth and looking at spaces around the southeast, right now her focus is on this market. Continue reading “Memphis BBQ Company, Dunwoody GA”
Tag: barbecue
Dave Poe’s BBQ, Marietta GA (take two)
I’ve been exchanging emails with several readers and writers who have also been noticing, as I suggested in July, that the quality of beef brisket being served in some of the Atlanta area’s barbecue joints has been improving massively. Now this is certainly not universal, and older restaurants don’t seem to quite have that same background of competition-circuit training that is really responsible for the uptick in brisket quality. Continue reading “Dave Poe’s BBQ, Marietta GA (take two)”
Harry and Larry’s Bar-B-Que, Winter Garden FL
We’d been bumming around Orlando for many hours, wasting a fair chunk of them in traffic, and it was getting a little late as we made our way to the last restaurant on our list. Now, my original hypothesis had been that barbecue in Florida must be very heavily influenced by each restaurant’s proprietor’s hometown style. Ah, what a silly error that was to make. I totally overlooked that thousands of people are actually born in Florida and grow up here; they don’t just retire to the Sunshine State. Take Ashlee and Katie Grimes, for example. They’re sisters whose family has lived in central Florida for four previous generations, and they’ve grown up smoking barbecue not far from Orlando. Continue reading “Harry and Larry’s Bar-B-Que, Winter Garden FL”
Q Dogs, Tarpon Springs FL
In the previous chapter, I mentioned that Tarpon Springs has a very big Greek-American population, and a whole lot of restaurants serving Mediterranean and Greek cuisine. It’s possible that the town has reached saturation point, because how’s a new restaurant supposed to stand out in such a thriving community with established customer loyalty? That’s what George Krouskos had to consider when he was thinking about opening a restaurant, and he settled on a hot dog stand that also smokes up some pretty good barbecue in an outdoor steel upright. Continue reading “Q Dogs, Tarpon Springs FL”
Character’s Famous BBQ, Adairsville GA (take two)
Since I wrote about his very small, ramshackle restaurant two years ago, Michael Character of Adairsville GA has become a familiar face on TV’s BBQ Pitmasters. He and Unadilla’s Myron Mixon are often seen on that program kicking butt, taking names, and letting it be known to all, far and wide, that Georgia barbecue is a whole lot better than you lousy no-good so-n-sos in other states may think. They’re probably convincing a few more people than I am here with our li’l blog, what with the big television audience and all. Continue reading “Character’s Famous BBQ, Adairsville GA (take two)”
Dennis’ Bar-B-Q, Hephzibah GA
A few chapters ago, as I started this series about our trip to South Carolina, I noted that very few of us in the blogging hobby have written much about Augusta. It’s kind of odd, really. Augusta has been in a tug-of-war with Columbus for as long as I can remember about which is the second-biggest city in the state. Wikipedia tells us that as of 2012, Augusta is the third-largest city, but the second-largest metro area, so neener neener, Muscogee County. I kid, but seriously, the region is badly, badly underrepresented in our hobby, which is why my friend Keith’s thread about the area on roadfood.com is so welcome. Continue reading “Dennis’ Bar-B-Q, Hephzibah GA”
Little Pigs Barbeque, Columbia SC
Of the five states that we have visited the most over the last six years, South Carolina’s barbecue has been the most uneven. To be sure, we’ve had some transcendent and amazing meals in the Palmetto State, and found some plates worth a very long drive, but we’ve also hit far more disappointments here than anywhere else. I’m very happy that Little Pigs, which is just northeast of Columbia, on the other side of I-77 and on the outskirts of Fort Jackson, is firmly in the “amazing” camp. I was hoping for a pretty good meal, and I got one of the best plates of barbecue I’ve ever had in this, or any state. Continue reading “Little Pigs Barbeque, Columbia SC”
Marie, Let's Eat! 